U.S. patent number 10,113,839 [Application Number 15/190,984] was granted by the patent office on 2018-10-30 for small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Disco Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is DISCO CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Kazuma Sekiya.
United States Patent |
10,113,839 |
Sekiya |
October 30, 2018 |
Small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus
Abstract
A small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus includes a
capturing body adapted to capture a drone, a target to be captured;
and a capturing body launching apparatus adapted to launch the
capturing body at the drone, in which the capturing body launching
apparatus can quickly capture the drone by launching the capturing
body even if the suspicious drone flies into an area to be
protected so as to protect the interest and safety of law-abiding
people.
Inventors: |
Sekiya; Kazuma (Tokyo,
JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
DISCO CORPORATION |
Tokyo |
N/A |
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Disco Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
57537249 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/190,984 |
Filed: |
June 23, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
|
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20160376029 A1 |
Dec 29, 2016 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
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Jun 25, 2015 [JP] |
|
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2015-127664 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B64D
17/80 (20130101); B64F 1/02 (20130101); F41B
5/1488 (20130101); F41B 5/1484 (20130101); F41H
13/0006 (20130101); F41H 11/02 (20130101); F42B
12/68 (20130101); B64C 2201/182 (20130101); F41B
7/046 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41H
13/00 (20060101); B64F 1/02 (20060101); B64D
17/80 (20060101); F41H 11/02 (20060101); F41B
5/14 (20060101); F42B 12/68 (20060101); F41B
7/04 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Sanderson; Joseph W
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus for repulsing an
unmanned air vehicle, comprising: a single capturing body adapted
to capture the unmanned air vehicle; the capturing body having a
capturing bullet, a gas generator and a detonator, a net adapted to
entangle the unmanned air vehicle, a parachute adapted to reduce a
failing speed of the unmanned air vehicle, and a single wire
coupled at one end to the capturing body; and a capturing body
launching apparatus adapted to launch the capturing body at the
unmanned air vehicle and retrieve the unmanned air vehicle; the
capturing body launching apparatus have an electric reel on the
capturing body launch apparatus, another end of the wire being
secured to the electric reel; a radar device adapted to detect a
distance to and a direction of the unmanned air vehicle, wherein
the radar device is adapted to determine whether or not the
unmanned air vehicle is within a firing range, and when the
unmanned air vehicle is within the firing range, the capturing body
launching apparatus launches the capturing body at the unmanned air
vehicle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a repulsing apparatus for
repulsing a small unmanned air vehicle that flies into public
areas.
Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen development of small unmanned air vehicles
called drones, facilitating, for example, aerial photo and video
shooting, logistics, and so on. Commercially available at
relatively low prices, drones are readily affordable even for
ordinary consumers. Such drones offer promise for application to a
wide range of fields.
Nowadays, however, malicious deeds such as flying a drone carrying
a radioactive substance onto the prime minister's official
residence and shooting aerial video during the Gokaicho event's
Buddhist ceremony at a Buddhist temple (e.g., Zenkoji temple in
Nagano Prefecture) have become rampant. Moreover, dangerous deeds
such as dropping a drone in such public areas have occurred
frequently. In particular, deeds such as flying a drone over a
public area for aerial shooting not only interfere with the
interest of law-abiding people but also expose these people to
danger, and leaving these deeds unresolved should not be tolerated.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-355323 proposes a
capturing apparatus for capturing a target. However, it would be
difficult to capture a drone using this capturing apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention
to provide a small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus for
repulsing (capturing) a small unmanned air vehicle quickly if such
a small unmanned air vehicle flies into an area to be
protected.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus for
repulsing a small unmanned air vehicle. The small unmanned air
vehicle repulsing apparatus includes a capturing body and a
capturing body launching apparatus. The capturing body captures the
small unmanned air vehicle. The capturing body launching apparatus
launches the capturing body at the small unmanned air vehicle.
Preferably, the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus
according to the present invention further includes detection means
that detects a distance and a direction to the small unmanned air
vehicle. Preferably, the present invention includes determination
means that determines, on the basis of information from the
detection means, whether or not the small unmanned air vehicle is
within a firing range. When the determination means determines that
the small unmanned air vehicle is within the firing range, the
capturing body launching apparatus launches the capturing body at
the small unmanned air vehicle.
Preferably, the capturing body includes a capturing bullet, a wire,
and an electric reel. The capturing bullet captures the small
unmanned air vehicle. The wire is coupled to the capturing body.
The electric reel takes up the wire. Preferably, the capturing
bullet includes a net and a parachute. The net entangles the small
unmanned air vehicle. The parachute reduces a falling speed of the
small unmanned air vehicle.
The small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus according to the
present invention includes the capturing body and the capturing
body launching apparatus. The capturing body captures the small
unmanned air vehicle. The capturing body launching apparatus
launches the capturing body at the small unmanned air vehicle. As a
result, the capturing body launching apparatus can quickly capture
the small unmanned air vehicle by launching the capturing body even
if such a suspicious small unmanned air vehicle flies into the area
to be protected, thus protecting the interest and safety of
law-abiding people.
If the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus according to
the present invention includes the detection means that detects the
distance and the direction to the small unmanned air vehicle, the
same apparatus can identify a position of the small unmanned air
vehicle that has flown into the area to be protected. Further, if
the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus according to the
present invention includes the determination means that determines,
on the basis of information from the detection means, whether or
not the small unmanned air vehicle is within the firing range, and
when it is determined by the determination means that the small
unmanned air vehicle is within the firing range, the capturing body
launching apparatus launches the capturing body at the small
unmanned air vehicle, thus making it possible to positively capture
the small unmanned air vehicle.
The capturing body includes the capturing bullet, the wire, and the
electric reel. The capturing bullet captures the small unmanned air
vehicle. The wire is coupled to the capturing body. The electric
reel takes up the wire. As a result, after the small unmanned air
vehicle is captured with the capturing bullet, it is possible to
draw the small unmanned air vehicle close to the small unmanned air
vehicle repulsing apparatus by taking up the wire on the electric
reel.
The capturing bullet includes the net and the parachute. The net
entangles the small unmanned air vehicle. The parachute reduces the
falling speed of the small unmanned air vehicle. As a result, after
the small unmanned air vehicle is captured with the net, it is
possible to prevent the small unmanned air vehicle from falling and
colliding with the ground by opening the parachute.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention and the manner of realizing them will become more
apparent, and the invention itself will best be understood from a
study of the following description and appended claims with
reference to the attached drawings showing a preferred embodiment
of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a configuration example of a
small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of the small
unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus with a capturing body
fitted to a capturing body launching apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a capturing
bullet of the capturing body;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams describing a method by
which a net of the capturing bullet is released;
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a condition in which the
capturing body is launched at a small unmanned air vehicle and the
net of the capturing bullet is released; and
FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a condition in which the small
unmanned air vehicle is captured by the capturing body with a
parachute being open.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1 illustrated in
FIG. 1 includes a capturing body 2 and a capturing body launching
apparatus 3. The capturing body 2 captures a small unmanned air
vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a "drone"), a target to be
captured. The capturing body launching apparatus 3 launches the
capturing body at the drone.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the capturing body launching
apparatus 3 is configured like a bow gun and includes a launch pad
30, a bow 31, a bowstring 32, and a hooking section 33. The
capturing body 2 is fitted to the launch pad 30 and launched
therefrom. The bow 31 is attached to a tip of the launch pad 30.
The bowstring 32 is strung between two ends of the bow 31. The
bowstring 32 is hooked on the hooking section 33. An end portion
33a of the hooking section 33 is coupled to a piston of an air
cylinder 34 fastened to a lower surface of the launch pad 30. When
the piston of the air cylinder 34 pulls the end portion 33a
backward and releases the hooking section 33 with the bowstring 32
pulled backward and hooked on the hooking section 33, the bowstring
32 is moved forward fast by a restoring force of the bow 31.
The capturing body launching apparatus 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 is
arranged on a mounting table 7, with a rotatable rotating table 8
arranged on an upper surface of the mounting table 7. Rotation of
the rotating table 8 allows the capturing body launching apparatus
3 to rotate. A support section 9 is arranged on the rotating table
8 to support a rear side of the launch pad 30. It is possible to
swing a front side of the launch pad 30 vertically and adjust a
sight of the capturing body 2 by rotating the rear side of the
launch pad 30 about a fulcrum shaft 10 with the capturing body 2
fitted to the launch pad 30. The capturing body launching apparatus
3 is not limited to the configuration in the present embodiment and
may be configured in the form of an air gun, a slingshot, gas gun,
and so on.
The small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1 includes
detection means 4 that detects a distance and a direction to a
drone that flies into an area to be protected. The detection means
4 is fastened to the launch pad 30 by a fastening section 40. The
detection means 4 includes, for example, a radar and has a parabola
antenna. The detection means 4 rotates together with the rotating
table 8 and radiates radio waves into the air and also receives
reflected waves reflected by the drone, thus detecting the distance
and direction to the drone. The detection means 4 may be able to
identify the direction and distance to the drone by performing
image processing on the basis of phase information included in the
received reflected waves. Alternatively, the detection means 4 may
use, for example, a scope.
The small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1 includes, on
the mounting table 7, determination means 5 that determines, on the
basis of information detected by the detection means 4, whether or
not the drone is within a firing range as illustrated in FIG. 2.
When the determination means 5 determines that the drone is within
the firing range, the capturing body launching apparatus 3 launches
the capturing body 2 at the drone.
The capturing body 2 includes a capturing bullet 20, a wire 21 and
a distance sensor 24, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The
capturing bullet 20 captures the drone. The wire 21 is coupled to
the capturing body 2. An electric reel 22 on the rotating table 8
takes up the wire 21. The distance sensor 24 detects the distance
to the drone, thus identifying a position where the drone can be
captured. A motor 23 is connected to the electric reel 22. The
motor 23 is fastened to the rotating table 8 by a fastening bracket
23'. When the motor 23 starts, the electric reel 22 takes up the
wire 21, thus allowing the capturing body 2 to be drawn close to
the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1.
The capturing bullet 20 includes a net 201, a plurality of weights
202, a container 200, and a parachute 203. The net 201 entangles
the drone. The weights 202 are attached equidistantly to a rim
portion of the net 201. The container 200 that can open and close
accommodates the net 201 in a folded manner as illustrated in FIG.
3. The parachute 203 reduces a falling speed of the drone.
It is preferred that the net 201 should be made of a material that
is strong to such an extent that the net 201 does not break when
the drone is entangled in the net 201. In the meantime, the
material of the weights 202 and the number thereof are not
specifically limited. Attachment of the plurality of weights 202 to
the rim portion of the net 201 makes it easier for the net 201
accommodated in the container 200 to unfold when the net 201 is
released from the container 200 and prevents the drone from moving
when the drone is entangled in the net 201.
Here, the net 201 can be released from the container 200, for
example, by using the principle of releasing an airbag. For
example, an inflator (gas generator) is arranged behind the net 201
that makes up the capturing bullet 20. That is, as illustrated in
FIG. 4A, a gas generator 204 is arranged behind each of the weights
202, and an ignitor 205 is arranged to detonate the gas generators
204. By igniting the ignitor 205 and detonating the gas generators
204, it is possible to release the net 201 from the container 200
by gas pressure. It is preferred that the gas generators 204 should
be arranged as illustrated in FIG. 4B such that the weights 202 are
blown off in directions that spread away from each other
(radially). This allows for the net 201 to unfold positively in a
radial manner and cover the drone. It should be noted that the
ignitor and the gas generators are not specifically limited.
However, it is preferred that they should be made from
non-explosive compositions that are not subject to control under
the Explosives Control Act.
The parachute 203 includes a semicircular umbrella body 203a and a
sling 203b connected to the umbrella body 203a and coupled to the
capturing body 2. Opening the umbrella body 203a with the drone
captured with the capturing body 2 reduces the falling speed of the
drone.
A description will be given next of an operation example of the
small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1. First, the
capturing body 2 is fitted to the launch pad 30 of the capturing
body launching apparatus 3 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Although not
specifically limited, the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing
apparatus 1 should preferably be provided mainly in a public area.
The term "public area" does not refer to a specifically restricted
area and includes, for example, the prime minister's official
residence, Imperial Palace, Buddhist temples, parks, public
facilities, historical architectures, and other areas.
A surrounding area of the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing
apparatus 1 is detected by the detection means 4. The detection
means 4 sends out radio waves into the air while at the same time
being rotated by the rotating table 8 illustrated in FIG. 1. When
the detection means 4 receives reflected waves reflected by a drone
6 illustrated in FIG. 5, for example, the detection means 4 can
detect the distance and direction to the drone 6 from the small
unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1, thus identifying the
position of the drone 6. Next, the determination means 5
determines, on the basis of information detected by the detection
means 4, whether or not the flying drone 6 is within the firing
range. When the determination means 5 identifies the position of
the drone 6 as within the firing range, the rear side of the launch
pad 30 illustrated in FIG. 2 is rotated about the fulcrum shaft 10
at the support section 9, and the sight of the capturing body 2
fitted to the launch pad 30 is set at the position of the drone
6.
The capturing body launching apparatus 3 releases the hooking
section 33, moving the bowstring 32 forward fast by the restoring
force of the bow 31 that is hooked on the hooking section 33 by
pulling the bowstring 32 backward. As a result, the capturing body
2 is launched at the drone 6. As the capturing body 2 is launched,
the wire 21 coupled to the capturing body 2 is unwound from the
electric reel 22.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the capturing body 2 approaches the
drone 6, and the distance sensor 24 identifies that the capturing
body 2 has reached where the drone 6 can be captured with the
capturing body 2, the container 200 of the capturing bullet 20
opens, releasing the net 201 forward. That is, ignition of the
ignitor 205 illustrated in FIG. 4A detonates the gas generators
204, blowing off the weights 202 and unfolding the net 201
radially.
When the net 201 covers and entangles the drone 6 as illustrated in
FIG. 6, the drone 6 can no longer move, thus being captured. Then,
the motor 23 illustrated in FIG. 2 starts, taking up the unwound
wire 21 on the electric reel 22 and drawing the capturing body 2
that has captured the drone 6 close to the small unmanned air
vehicle repulsing apparatus 1. At this time, the umbrella body 203a
of the parachute 203 opens, reducing the falling speed of the drone
6 and preventing the drone 6 from colliding with the ground.
Further, possible accidents can be proactively prevented if
somebody is around where the drone 6 will fall.
Thus, the small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatus 1
according to the present invention includes the capturing body 2
and the capturing body launching apparatus 3. The capturing body 2
captures the drone 6. The capturing body launching apparatus 3
launches the capturing body 2 at the drone 6. As a result, the
capturing body launching apparatus 3 can quickly capture the drone
6 by launching the capturing body 2 even if the drone 6 flies into
a public area to be protected, thus protecting the interest and
safety of law-abiding people.
The number of small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatuses 1 to
be provided can be specified at will as necessary. Therefore, if
the plurality of small unmanned air vehicle repulsing apparatuses 1
are provided in a public area, and if a plurality of suspicious
drones fly into the public area, it is possible to capture these
drones efficiently.
It should be noted that the capturing body 2 shown in the present
embodiment should preferably be configured such that the capturing
body 2 does not erroneously capture an object other than a drone
(e.g., a bird). Identification means (e.g., thermal sensor) may be
arranged in the capturing bullet 20.
The present invention is not limited to the details of the above
described preferred embodiment. The scope of the invention is
defined by the appended claims and all changes and modifications as
fall within the equivalence of the scope of the claims are
therefore to be embraced by the invention.
* * * * *